Modern Times, Ancient Wisdom
When I started my blog 17 years ago, I mostly wrote personal musings as a new mother of two boys. But, over the years, I wanted to write about the different aspects of Vedic wisdom and modern psychology. I was learning how to integrate them into my daily life to help me understand myself, others and our collective human potential.
In that self-discovery journey, I also learned that one of life’s best-kept secrets is leadership. The moment you take initiative, you become a leader, regardless of the area of life. Most people are either too busy to act or are looking for direction. My research led me to Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai who brought Chanakya, the ancient strategist, and his teachings into our modern corporate world.
His popular books like Corporate Chanakya, Chanakya’s 7 Secrets of Leadership, and Chanakya in You help us apply ancient Indian strategies of Arthashastra and Chanakya Neeti to our contemporary business, governance, and life.
A few years ago, I searched for him on LinkedIn and sent a connection request. I had hoped to interview him for a podcast series I have been conceptualizing. So the news that Dr. Pillai passed away at the age of 50 this past week came as a shock to me and many in the personal development world.
The Philosopher King
The Arthashastra by Chanakya is a 4th century BC text on statecraft, economics, governance, diplomacy, military strategy, and leadership. Pillai brought Chanakya’s teachings into modern relevance by connecting them to corporate leadership, governance, strategy, and organizational excellence.
A true leader, the Raja Rishi or the philosopher king, must combine deep inner wisdom with strategic action. Leadership is not just authority, it is a combination of discipline, foresight, and ethical pragmatism. The leader must master Aanvikshiki, the “art of thinking,” which includes logic, philosophy, analysis, Yoga for discipline, Sankhya for rational inquiry, and Lokayata for practicality and realism. Alongside this, the leader must understand ethics and dharma, economics and wealth creation, and governance and strategy.
Chanakya teaches that a leader must first conquer himself before attempting to govern others. The six internal enemies — lust, anger, greed, vanity, arrogance, and uncontrolled joy — must be restrained through discipline, continuous learning, and association with wise people. Pillai repeatedly emphasizes that without personal mastery, no external success can endure.
The Leadership Mindset
The Arthashastra presents leadership as a lifelong discipline rather than a title. Great leaders understand, face, and speak the truth. Others may begin strong but stop when they encounter obstacles, whereas true leaders continue despite challenges and ensure successful execution.
Chanakya’s philosophy is “Think solutions. That is the mantra for success.” Leadership requires relentless adaptability, practical thinking, and resilience under pressure.
Decision-making is another major theme. “Measure twice, but cut once” reflects Chanakya’s insistence on thoughtful preparation before decisive execution.
Discipline, Energy, and Balance
Chanakya repeatedly stresses that the energy of the leader shapes the energy of the organization or nation. “If the king is energetic, his subjects will be equally energetic. If he is slack and lazy in performing his duties, the subjects will also become lazy.”
“Leadership has to be practiced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.” Sustainable success also requires patience and long-term thinking.
The Seven Pillars
One of the foundational frameworks of the Arthashastra is the Saptanga Theory, which explains that every strong state or organization rests on seven interconnected pillars. These include the Swami (leader), Amatya (advisors and ministers), Janapada (people and territory), Durg (infrastructure and systems), Kosha (treasury and finances), Danda (administration, security, and execution), and Mitra (allies and strategic partners).
Chanakya believed that weakness in even one pillar could destabilize the entire system. Modern interpretations apply this framework to businesses and institutions by emphasizing leadership quality, strong teams, infrastructure, financial health, disciplined execution, customer welfare, and strategic partnerships.
People Management, Diplomacy and Competition
Chanakya strongly believed that leadership is impossible without capable advisors and teams. “One wheel alone does not turn.” Ministers and counselors must be selected based on merit, intelligence, loyalty, bravery, foresight, and ethical character rather than favoritism or status.
The Arthashastra recommends rigorously testing people before entrusting them with responsibility. Pillai emphasizes that successful leaders create environments where experimentation is encouraged, morale remains high, and intelligent mistakes are tolerated.
Chanakya also presents four methods of influence known as the Upayas: conciliation, incentives, division, and force. Force should be used only after other methods fail. This reflects Chanakya’s larger philosophy of strategic pragmatism and minimizing unnecessary conflict.
A Thought Vacuum
The enduring message of the Arthashastra is that leadership rests on four foundations: self-mastery, capable people, accurate information, and strategic action. Dr. Pillai gave these teachings a powerful 21st century spin.
His writings have helped me better understand my own role in corporate strategy and leadership. Through his work, I’ve learned that great leaders are decisive, skilled trust-builders, and strong believers in pragmatic, ethical governance.
As the founder of Chanakya Aanvikshiki, Dr. Pillai positioned himself at the intersection of tradition and transformation. I am grateful for his ideas and that I was once in the same orbit as him. I will deeply miss his profound insights in the area of personal and professional leadership.
– 0 –
What Will You Do?
If you’ve got one chance to make a dent in the universe.
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. ~ Anais Nin
In Life, He Left Our Hearts Racing — In Death, He Broke Them
Back around 2005, my husband and I were still watching TV together in the evenings. One of the shows we’d tune into was Grey's Anatomy. Yes, we had claimed our solidarity and remained fully committed to each other in spirit, but there seemed to be an unspoken rule...
Tech Billionaires Don’t Trust Their Own Tech: The Screen-Time Secrets They’re Hiding From Parents
Toying With Our Futures At the Aspen Ideas Festival in June 2024, Peter Thiel was interviewed by Andrew Ross Sorkin. He volunteered information in response to a question, “If you ask executives of social media companies how much screen time they let their kids...
When Dreams Abroad Turn Heavy: The Tragic Story and the Silent Mental Health Crisis of International Students
A Promise And Brilliance Lost “I'm a Master’s student in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department at University of California, Berkeley, with an undergraduate degree from IIT Madras. I'm passionate about deep-tech innovations in soft and active...
Chopra Is a Construct. Epstein’s Crimes Are Real.
The Business of Consciousness Constructs In one of the emails to Epstein, Deepak Chopra declares, “God is a Construct. Cute Girls are Real.” Yup, the self help Guru Deepak Chopra features in Epstein emails over 3000 times. And this is just one of the few...
The Prophet and the Poet: Tupac’s Humanity, Legacy, and Why His Words Still Heal Generations
For the longest time, until it just became too dirty for me to wear, I would wear my Tupac shirt whenever I had to run an errand or just take Yogi, our dog, out for a walk. I can't find a picture of mine readily, but I’ll update this space once I find one of me...
I Walked In as a Tourist and Left Feeling Like I Belonged Somewhere I’d Never Been Before
Selling Our Soul to The Arts I arrived in SFO as a tourist, but the moment I walked into SFMOMA, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, it felt like I belonged there. I was suddenly in the company of over 50,000 artists’ works. The Grand Atrium’s minimalist...
The Integrity Exit: Why Mrinank Sharma’s Departure Matters
Two days ago, Mrinank Sharma resigned from his role as an AI safety engineer at Anthropic. He had been with the company for two years. “The world is in peril. And not just from AI, or bioweapons, but from a whole series of interconnected crises unfolding in this very...
Filters, Fraud, and Fame: Why I’m “Hiring” Kim K as My Life Coach
The Open Letter to Kim K Yeah, once in a while I write posts like these, the kind that disappoint my parents and my kids alike. But, who else will stick it up to Kim and her klan? Uggh, so I will do the needful. This one is going to be special. I’ll tell you...
The Nihilist Penguin: Why Werner Herzog’s Lone Penguin Speaks to Our Need to Reject the Herd
The "Nihilist Penguin" and the Man Who Found It Like many of you, I was captivated by Herzog's lone penguin. The one that breaks from the herd and heads in the opposite direction. This singular image of defiance seems to be the hallmark of its observer who...
Carl Sagan Didn’t Just Explain the Universe — He Explained What It Means to Be Human
Every time I come across Carl Sagan’s quotes on my social media feeds, I pause. I take time to reflect on what he was trying to say. When I moved to the US 24 years ago, I spent a lot of time in libraries, reading books and articles that might give me insight into the...
14 Mind-Blowing Quotes That Reveal How Social Media Is Hijacking Your Life
Thoughts on Social Media, Technology, and Our Attention Our lives are increasingly lived online, where every scroll, click, and share shapes not just our behavior but our reality. Leading thinkers warn us that while technology can amplify our voices and connect...
Building Trust and Safety: How Accountability Strengthens Law Enforcement and Communities
I have lived in the United States for nearly twenty-four years. This is my home. I am a person of color, and so are my children. In my city of Johns Creek, a suburb northwest of Atlanta, I often see police officers on the roads. I respect the work they do. They show...
Kagemni Slayed Me With a Reed Pen: A Love Affair With Ancient Egyptian Scribes and Tombs
Falling Into A Saqqara Tomb Silly me, when I visited the Djoser Step Pyramid complex of the Saqqara necropolis (ancient Egyptian burial ground city), I was worried I would fall into a catacomb, one of those recesses between the ancient Egyptian tombs. Little...
When Parenting Influencers Go Too Far: The Shocking Truth About Child Exploitation
I remember that summer of 2023 like it was yesterday. I kept replaying this three-minute Ring camera video over and over that I had seen on news. It showed an emaciated, slow moving 12-year-old boy walking up to a neighbor's door around 10 am in the scorching Utah...
Iranian Female Protest Rap That Defies a Regime — Real Rebel Music That Hits Hard ✊
The below is a story about the taste of freedom, and about the strength of standing against intolerable darkness. It's difficult to forget what happened in Iran in 2022. 22 year old Mahsa Amini was visiting Tehran with her family when she was stopped by Iran’s...
Unlock Lifelong Learning: Top Movie & Documentary Recommendations That Inspire Growth
- “You’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket, and you’re too much of a p*ssy to cash it in. You don’t owe it to yourself, you owe it to me. In twenty years, if you’re still living here working construction, I’ll f*cking kill ya. Hanging around here is a...
Living Deliberately Without the Woods: How to Build a Meaningful Life in a Noisy World
Excuse my language. There's a meme I once saw while helping one of my clients with his decluttering project. "Working jobs we hate, so we can buy shit we don't need." Doesn't it sum up the way we are living our lives? This continues to bring me back to Henry David...
When Death Isn’t the Fear: A Soul-Shaking Review of “A Battle with My Blood”
Tatiana Schlossberg was a mother, an environmental journalist, and a cancer patient - in that order. She passed away at the age of 35 a few days ago. And she had written an essay about her last days. The scope of my essay on hers is to highlight her love for...
Questions, just ask!
Text or Call: 678.310.5025 | Contact: Fill Form
Bringing a Group? Email us for a special price!